building at La M arsa, three and one-half
miles from the Carthage of to-day.
No land has more wondrous or more
beautiful Christian ruins than North
Africa. From Shershel, in Algeria, to
Carthage, in Tunisia, the pilgrim follows
the sacred way of the routes of the basili
cas, where every step treads on holy
ground, sacred to the blood of saints and
martyrs.
OLDEST' REMAINS OF CHRISTIAN EDIFICES
Few, indeed, know the importance of
the African ruins, which are the oldest
remains of Christian edifices in the world !
If one wishes to see what the first
Christian churches were like, it is not to
Rome one should go, but to Africa. They
do not exist any more in Rome, for they
have all been destroyed or built over; but
at Carthage and Tebessa one can still see
the largest basilicas in the world and
easily imagine what they were in the days
of St. Augustine.
Two hundred and fifty basilicas,
churches, and chapels have been discov
ered and partly explored; thousands of
Christian inscriptions, tombs, and relics
laid bare, and yet there has never been a
pilgrimage to these sacred and beautiful
ruins.
Some of the most wonderful catacombs
and cemeteries of the first centuries of
Christianity are to be found at Susa
(Sousse) and at Tipasa the deserted,
with its basilica dedicated to St. Salsa,
one of the most celebrated African mar
tyrs: Tebessa, the largest early Christian
ruin on earth, so reminiscent of the day
of St. Augustine; Souk Ahras, the home
of that saint; HIippo, where only a few
stones and the name of one good man
remain ; and then to Carthage, where the
great St. Louis of France died and where
the glorious martyrs, St. Cyprian, St.
Perpetua, and St. Felicitas suffered for
the Christian faith (see page 4o0).
Carthage, too, is sacred to the memory
of St. Vincent de Paul and of Tertullian.
Pope Leo IX said: "There is no possible
doubt that the bishop of Carthage is the
greatest after Rome and the greatest
metropolitan of Africa."
MYSTERY STILL VEILS PUNIC CARTIlACEG
It is still evident that only profound in
vestigation can pierce the veil of mystery
which shrouds the site of the great Phoe
nician city. The most painstaking search
through the Peninsula of Carthage is re
quired to substantiate finally all of the
new theories which have been developed
of late.
My own explorations convince me be
yond all doubt as to the error which has
persisted for centuries regarding the lo
cation, and such progress as I have been
fortunate in making is due to a few rec
ords of ancient historians, the Arab docu
mentation of the Middle Ages, a study of
geographical changes, and the excavations
of the last five years.
Through all the desolation of the sur
roundings and amid the debris that
blankets the entire peninsula, the voices
of Hannibal, Scipio, St. Augustine, St.
Louis, St. Cyprian, and other mighty
spirits seem to summon the modern world
to the task of discovery and enlighten
ment.
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